More Strides Expected For The Lakers
The Prior Lake boys cross country team has not qualified for state since 1993.
Is this the year the Lakers' end the long drought?
Last fall, Prior Lake sent two individual runners to state - junior Trenton Galloway and senior Ben Garrison. It was the second straight season the Lakers were represented at the Class AA meet and only the third time since 1994.
Second-year coach John Maresh has high hopes for the program. But first, he said he has to continue to the grow the numbers.
Prior Lake returns its top-five runners from sections last year as it finished third behind Rosemount and Burnsville (the top qualify for state).
"We lost a couple of seniors, but we have a good group back," said Maresh. "They're all hard workers. We're moving forward. As a whole, we are trying to get our numbers up. Each year, we're getting bigger."
The Lakers open the season Aug. 29 at the Irish Invitational in Rosemount at 11 a.m. Prior Lake is in the Lakeville Applejack Invitational Sept. 12 at 5 p.m.
Galloway is expected to lead Prior Lake. He finished 21st at the Class AA state meet last year to earn all-state honors in his first appearance, while Garrison ended up 104th.
Maresh just wants to see both runners continue to be consistent.
"They key for them is not having mental lapses and continue to push through each race," said Maresh.
Senior Shawn Doherty and sophomore Colin Dwyer are expected to be in the Lakers' top four, while junior Charlie McIntyre was part of last year's section squad.
Other seniors who can try to get into the Lakers' top seven include Aidan Resh and Michael Gustin.
Fifth-ranked Rosemount is once again the favorite in Section 3AA. Burnsville lost four of its top-seven runners from its state team last year. The Blaze does have one of the top runners in the section in sixth-ranked Faysal Mahmoud.
Maresh would no doubt like to get his entire team to state this year. But he's also looking longterm, hoping to build a program that can compete for a state spot on a yearly basis.
"I think our younger guys will be key for us this year," said Maresh. "They could make or break the season. The freshmen and sophomores seem to be the hungriest. Our No. 5, 6, 7 and 8 guys will be just as important to the team as our top guys."
In the South Suburban Conference, Rosemount and No. 8 Lakeville North are the two favorites, followed by the Lakers and Burnsville. Galloway led the Lakers in the SSC Championships last year taking third overall.
Prior Lake finished fourth in the SSC last fall. It was ninth the previous three seasons. At sections, the Lakers' third-place showing was its finish since being moved to 3AA in 2007. The team was seventh in 2011. It was eighth last 2012 and in 2010 and out of the top 10 the three years before that (11th in 2009, 12th in 2008 and 13th in 2007).